Natural language programming

Abstract

Audio content associated with a received verbal utterance is received. An operational meaning of the received verbal utterance comprising a compound input is recognized and determined at least in part by: determining that a first subset of the received verbal utterance is associated with a first recognized input; determining that a second subset of the received verbal utterance is associated with a second recognized input; and storing data that associates with a scene identifier a set of commands that includes a first command associated with the first recognized input and a second command associated with the second recognized input.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system, comprising:
 a communication interface configured to receive audio content associated with a verbal utterance; 
 a processor coupled to the communication interface and configured to recognize and determine an operational meaning of the received verbal utterance comprising a compound input, wherein the compound input comprises a plurality of sentences, and wherein to recognize and determine comprises: 
 determining that a first subset of the received verbal utterance is associated with a first input; 
 determining that a second subset of the received verbal utterance is associated with a second input; 
 storing a macro that associates with a scene identifier a set of commands that includes a first command associated with the first input and a second command associated with the second input, wherein a scene associated with the scene identifier is defined and stored as the macro, and wherein the macro may be invoked via a natural language; and 
 testing the scene, including checking for an infinite loop. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive via the communication interface second audio content comprising a scene activation command. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to map the scene activation command to the scene identifier. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the set of commands based at least in part on receiving the second audio content and further configured to map the scene activation command to the scene identifier. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the set of commands associated with the scene identifier at a prescribed time or schedule. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first command controls a first controlled system and the second command controls a second controlled system. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 6 , wherein the first controlled system and the second controlled system each control a physical environment. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the physical environment includes at least one of the following: a home environment, an office environment, a commercial environment, and a retail environment. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the physical environment includes at least one of the following: an indoor environment and an outdoor environment. 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the physical environment includes at least one of the following controllable devices: light, shade, blind, audio, music, music playlist selection, music artist selection, music song selection, music album selection, video, video channel, video volume, thermostat, temperature, humidity, lock, garage door, door, gate, fountain, pool, coffee maker, fireplace, fan, relay, and shower. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the received verbal utterance further includes a control parameter. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the control parameter is a limitation, wherein the limitation is a temporal or spatial limitation. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the control parameter is a sequence, wherein the sequence is a temporal or spatial sequence. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a parameter from the received verbal utterance, wherein the parameter is a temporal or spatial parameter. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to include in the set of commands an internal representation of logic to implement the sequence. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the internal representation of logic includes stopping execution of a first command on a first system and beginning execution of a second command on a second system based at least in part on a punctuation mark associated with the first subset and the second subset. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the internal representation of logic includes stopping execution of a first command on a first system and beginning execution of a second command on the first system based at least in part on a punctuation mark associated with the first subset and the second subset. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the internal representation of logic includes a transition, wherein the transition is trigger-based or event-based, and wherein the transition is based other than or in addition to time. 
     
     
       19. A method, comprising:
 receiving audio content associated with a received verbal utterance; 
 recognizing and determining an operational meaning of the received verbal utterance comprising a compound input, wherein the compound input comprises a plurality of sentences, and wherein to recognize and determine comprises: 
 determining that a first subset of the received verbal utterance is associated with a first input; 
 determining that a second subset of the received verbal utterance is associated with a second input; 
 storing a macro that associates with a scene identifier a set of commands that includes a first command associated with the first input and a second command associated with the second input, wherein a scene associated with the scene identifier is defined and stored as the macro, and wherein the macro may be invoked via a natural language; and 
 testing the scene, including checking for an infinite loop. 
 
     
     
       20. A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:
 receiving audio content associated with a received verbal utterance; 
 recognizing and determining an operational meaning of the received verbal utterance comprising a compound input, wherein the compound input comprises a plurality of sentences, and wherein to recognize and determine comprises: 
 determining that a first subset of the received verbal utterance is associated with a first input; 
 determining that a second subset of the received verbal utterance is associated with a second input; 
 storing a macro that associates with a scene identifier a set of commands that includes a first command associated with the first input and a second command associated with the second input, wherein a scene associated with the scene identifier is defined and stored as the macro, and wherein the macro may be invoked via a natural language; and 
 testing the scene, including checking for an infinite loop.